Older Seniors during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Social Support and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has greatly affected all parts of private life and led to social distancing and self-isolation. Limited social support for older or frail people might have led to decreased oral health and its related quality of life. The current study aimed to investigate the social support of older seniors and self-perceived oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Questionnaires were sent to all patients of the Dental Clinic of the University of Leipzig (Germany) aged 75, 80, or 85 years (n = 1228) at the end of February 2021. Besides demographic characteristics and care level, an adapted German version of the ENRICHD Social Support Inventory (ESSI-D) and the German Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) were included. The response rate was 35.7% (n = 439). Twelve replies were not included in the data analysis as participants had either no interest, were cognitively impaired, or did not match the required age group. Analysis of ESSI-D revealed low social support for 13.2% (n = 53/403) of the seniors. No statistically significant impact of assigned care level on low social support was identified. Seniors with an assigned care level (CLyes) presented higher OHIP-14 sum scores (CLno/CLyes 6.43/10.12; p < 0.001). This was also true for six of the seven OHIP-14 domains, except for functional limitation. Regarding seniors with an assigned care level, a weak positive correlation was identified for sum scores of the ESSI-D and the OHIP-14 (r = 0.29). Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, older seniors reported high self-perceived social support. As seniors with an assigned care level revealed more impaired OHRQoL and a correlation with lower social support, special attention should be given to this vulnerable and frail group in times of a pandemic. When restrictions may minimize access to dental treatment and might negatively influence the oral health of older seniors, health care programs should offer more individual options for dental/medical appointments.

Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions of Loneliness amongst Older Adults: A Qualitative Study

“…This, coupled with boredom and the monotony of daily life, led to feelings of loneliness [24,31,34]. Some of the participants spoke about the fact that many older adults feel depressed, neglected or demotivated [9,22,67], leading to problems in self-care: forgetting to take medication, malnutrition and safety issues [68,69]. The majority emphasize that the somatision is a direct consequence of feeling neglected and lonely [70].…”

The mediating effect of social support on the association between socioeconomic status and self-reported oral health status among the migrant elderly following children in Weifang, China: a cross-sectional study

“…The relationship between SES and self-reported oral health status was partially mediated by social support with an effect size of 12% and the SES indirect mediating effect via social support was 0.03, signified that social support had a positive mediating effect between SES and self-reported oral health status and in this model, the correlation coefficient was 0.03. Previous studies had already found that the social support was positively associated with oral health [ 27 , 64 ], indicating the higher level of social support, the more likely to have good self-reported oral health status. A study had shown that SES could promote the health status by increasing social support among Chinese older adults [ 64 ].…”

“…Several studies showed social support played an important role in improving oral health outcomes for immigrants [24][25][26]. A larger number of studies had shown that individuals with lower levels of social support often had poorer oral health [27,28].…”

Relationship between Psychological Status and Health Behaviors during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…In the elderly prone to periodontal complications, interruption of home life and dental care due to COVID-19 may exacerbate periodontal disease [19]. Weber et al [20] reported that the decrease in dental-related quality of life of older adults requiring care during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly associated with decreased social support. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of necessary social support during the spread of COVID-19 infection on dental visits in Japan.…”